The Right Words
by thefairywrites
Summary: Rogue had been wondering who his soulmate was. It could be anyone, and yet it didn't matter how many people uttered the phrase etched on his wrist, nobody seemed to trigger its disappearance.


He stared down at his bare wrist with a frown, his sanguine eyes narrowing at the words printed clearly on his pale skin. "You're such an idiot", he huffed as he read the words aloud.

Why the hell did he get such a terrible phrase? He was lucky it hadn't traumatized him as a young child. Though he supposed he was far more distracted by the giant dragon that was raising him on a daily basis.

This was an expression that had been directed at him often throughout his lifetime, and yet, those three words had never disappeared from his wrist. Sting called him an idiot on the daily, but the first time he had, Rogue had nearly had a heart attack. No, not because he was afraid of him, but for fear he'd have to spend the rest of his days with such an egotistical—vulgar, he might add—jackass. Of course, as time went by, and they grew closer, he'd begun to wish that Sting was his soulmate— especially after Sting's change of heart when he became guild master. After all, what could be better than spending the rest of your life with your best friend?

Unfortunately, the words never went away, and he was still stuck wondering who would trigger their disappearance. Whoever it was, though, had to be a real jerk. He didn't really want to fall in love with someone who's key words to him were an insult. Sting had been different. They developed into having a close relationship, and he'd soon learned it was his way of showing affection. He knew that the white dragonslayer cared for him, and so he never really took his harsh words to heart.

Yukino and Rogue had gone on a mission together. Things were going as usual, and they were just walking casually through the city of Hargeon. They were needed to clear out some pesky dark mages that had been stealing from the local magic shops. It didn't take long to finish, and the reward was certainly worth the effort of travelling all the way to the seaside city. That was until he'd tripped over a stray rock and accidentally pushed the celestial mage down into a huge, putrid smelling pile of manure. Her disgusted sobbing and groaning followed suit, the woman soon stood up from the ground completely covered from head to toe in the feces—her outfit would have to be thrown out as washing it would do nothing to save it.

He eyed her unsteady form as she whimpered softly and stared down at the sidewalk below her. She glanced up at him with her eyes narrowed, a frown drawn on her normally positive features. The moment their gazes locked, Rogue knew she had it in for him—he knew she wasn't just going to let him off the hook. She slowly made her way to his trembling form, each step towards him letting out a nauseating squelch as the stench cut through the air. He scrunched his eyes shut to brace himself for whatever punishment she had in store for him. Then, completely out of character, she had called him an idiot and slapped him square across the face, knocking him to the ground with the force and right on top of his left hand he had attempted to break his fall with. Although it was all his fault, and he completely deserved it, it stung nonetheless—and not just the slap. His wrist throbbed like hell, right where the words were etched onto his skin. Though he hadn't known that the side effects of the words being uttered would cause him such immense pain. Hell, he couldn't even move his hand since it had gone numb at that point.

When they finally returned to the guild—Yukino staying silent and angry at him for the entirety of the trip back—he quickly made his way to the infirmary. As Sting looked over his wrist, Rogue laid with his head against the pillow, his gaze locked to the ceiling. Mainly in shock over the events that had taken place prior, but also pondering over the fact that the white-haired celestial mage could possibly be his soulmate. He was pulled from his reverie by the chuckling of his friend beside him, and the words he uttered, "Wow, even your wrist knows you're an idiot."

He sighed and clenched his uninjured hand. Of course it wasn't Yukino, what was he thinking? The frown grew on his face at the thought when he felt Sting's unusually gentle fingers wrapping a bandage around his swollen wrist. "You outta be more careful, buddy", his friend started, a grin plastered on his face, "I know Yukino doesn't look very strong, but she can sure pack a punch. I wouldn't wanna make her angry."

The shadow dragonslayer merely grunted in response. Once he again he'd been called an idiot, and he still had no idea who in the hell his soulmate was. He was beginning to think he didn't have one at this point, that perhaps the gods were just playing a trick on him. What a cruel trick indeed. Despite his outward indifference on most matters, his heart still hurt sometimes. Everyone else seemed to be finding their life partners, and here he was still alone.

Rogue sighed deeply, and it must have caught the attention of the man sitting by his bedside, because he felt Sting pause his work on his wrist. He turned his head to look at his friend's hands, just noticing he wasn't wearing his usual gloves and—

 _No tattoo on his wrist._

He wanted to laugh out loud at that point—not because he thought it was funny, not at all, but because even his best friend found his soulmate first. Who it was, he didn't know for sure, but he had an idea. Sting rarely spent a significant amount of time with anybody since he was the guild master and he often times had a lot of paperwork to do. Though there was a certain white-haired woman who seemed to find her way into his office while he was "working", and it indeed was work. Well, if work included making out on the desk on _top_ of the paperwork and not actually getting any of the paperwork done.

"Who is it?", he mumbled.

"Huh?", Sting asked, and looked up to meet Rogue's gaze, still clutching the bandages in his hands.

"Your soulmate. It's Yukino isn't it?", the shadow dragonslayer asked dryly, turning his gaze back towards the ceiling.

He heard Sting's breath hitch at the mention of the woman's name, and felt his fingers twitch against the skin of his swollen wrist. "What do you mean?", Sting answered thickly.

Rogue chuckled softly and turned his head back towards his friend. "Your tattoo", he gestured towards his wrist, "It's gone."

"Oh yeah", his friend sighed and smiled softly to himself, a serene look Rogue had never seen settled on his face, "She's really somethin' ain't she?"

"Well I'm not surprised you ended up with someone who could kick my ass with a single slap across the face.", he answered wryly.

Sting snickered and began wrapping Rogue's wrist once more, "You deserved it though. I mean, I'd be kicking your ass too if you pushed me into a giant pile of shit."

"Yeah, yeah."

The white dragonslayer finished taping off the bandage before standing up from his seat beside the bed. "Well, I'll be off. Got some work to do. Get some rest. I know you and Yukino had a long trip home", he said as he cleaned up the first aid supplies and threw them into the trash.

He earned a hum from the male in the bed, and he took that as his friend's acknowledgement. He began walking towards the door of the infirmary when his friend spoke from behind him. "Hey Sting—", Rogue hesitated but continued, "—Wait a sec."

"What is it, Rogue?", he questioned and turned back around to face him.

"This is going to sound really stupid, I know, but I—", Rogue started, his voice was shaky and a flush formed on his cheeks, "—I—"

"You'll find your soulmate someday, bud. Whether that day is today, tomorrow or even ten years from now. Right now I wouldn't even worry about it", Sting grinned and turned back around and gripped the doorknob, "It'll happen when the time is right."

He heard a loud huff from behind him and he opened the door. "Besides, you'll always have me as your best friend! Plus, you have Frosch, Lector and the entire rest of the guild! I think you're set for life even if you don't end up with anybody", he finished with a laugh and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him before Rogue could even answer.

Rogue groaned and shut his eyes. Perhaps some rest would get his mind off of things.

 _Knock knock knock._

He opened one eye towards the closed door, pulling the white sheet that covered him from the waist down up a bit. Why the person knocking wouldn't just come in was strange in itself. It wasn't like their guild was built on a platform of manners or anything.

 _Knock knock knock._

He sighed and stared at the ceiling. Sleep certainly wasn't going to be an option if this incessant knocking continued. Maybe if he just didn't say anything the person would just leave.

 _Knock knock knock._

Rogue groaned and tore the sheets off, marching towards the door with his fists clenched. He gripped the door handle tightly and began to turn it. If this person wasn't going to stop knocking he'd have to knock them down for interrupting his sle—

"L-lady Minerva", he stuttered at the sight of the woman before him, a blush forming from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, "What are you doing here?"

There she stood, wearing a flour-covered apron over a cute little white sundress and carrying a large tray of cookies. She pouted, and Rogue noticed the tiniest bits of pink peppering her cheeks as she gripped the edges of the tray a bit tighter as though she wasn't sure what to do next. When she opened her mouth and closed it a few times without saying anything, it had confirmed his suspicions and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. _How cute…_ , he thought to himself.

Minerva shot him a look before shoving the tray into his arms, nearly knocking the cookies off in the process. "Here," she muttered, the blush seeming to grow on her cheeks, "these are for you."

"Wow, you made these all for me?", he answered, a hint of sarcasm laced in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her lips stretching in a straight line, "Don't get used to it."

A slight grin formed on his face, one most would say was unusual for him, and yet it only seemed to appear around Minerva. It didn't matter how sarcastic or rude she was to him at times. It was moments like these that he could look forward to, and he was the only one that she reserved these times for. He just felt drawn to her for some reason, as if they were attached together by a string.

The woman cleared her throat, snapping Rogue out of his thoughts. "Let me see it.", she murmured, holding an open hand out.

"See what?", he asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange question.

"You're such an idiot…", she mumbled under her breath before speaking normally, "Your wrist. Give me your hand."

Rogue sucked in a breath at the phrase she had muttered, and he swore for a second he felt a tingling under the skin of his wrist.

Was it just his imagination? Perhaps. Or maybe it was the string of fate, tying their souls together, pulling them closer inch by inch.


End file.
